Can driveways or paved areas count toward landscaped area?
Generally, no. A driveway or other hard-paved vehicle area should not be counted as planting/landscaped area where the applicable Territory Plan requirement is specifically for planting area.
The current Residential Zones Technical Specifications 2026 (NI2026-303) distinguishes planting areas from driveways, parking and other hard-surfaced areas. For dual-occupancy/multi-unit development, the required planting area must be capable of supporting planting and tree canopy, so ordinary driveway paving cannot simply be included in that calculation.
Some forms of landscaping or specially designed permeable surfaces may serve other environmental or site-design purposes, but that does not automatically make them qualifying planting area.
Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 (NI2026-303) – Planning (Residential Zones) Technical Specifications 2026 | PDF
Short Answer
Generally, no. Ordinary driveways and hard-paved areas do not count as required planting area. The qualifying area must meet the applicable planting-area requirements of the Residential Zones Technical Specifications.
Detailed Explanation
No, not ordinarily. Areas used for vehicle access, driveways or hard paving are distinct from areas relied upon to demonstrate compliance with the applicable planting-area requirements under the Residential Zones planning framework.
Where a prescribed proportion of the site is required as planting area, only land satisfying the applicable definition and dimensional requirements for planting area should be included. Driveways and conventional paved areas should therefore not be included merely because they are external or uncovered areas.
The distinction is important because planting-area requirements support objectives including landscaping, deep soil and tree-canopy provision, whereas driveways and parking perform a separate site function.
No minimum block size does not remove the need for planning assessment.
Would you like to know what these rules mean for your property?
Get a Planning Assessment prepared by our experienced planning team.